Fili (2023), PAR, AMACI #19, Piazza Vittorio, Rome IT

I conceptualised and presented the performance Sewn at the Singapore Performance Art festival, Future of the Imagination 9, in 2014. That same year, I brought Sewn to the 15th OPEN International Performance Art Festival at the Tree Gallery, located in the renowned 798 Art District of Beijing, China.

In 2023 I presented Sewn in my hometown, within the vibrant and culturally diverse gardens of Piazza Vittorio. This recently redeveloped and enhanced space is dedicated to the heroic Nicola Calipari, a victim of war.

The performance - public and participatory, and inspired by my meditation practice - was conceived as a space of encounter, bringing together people from different cultures, traditions, and languages. Its aim is to transcend the superficial and fragile confines of a closed, decadent, and materialistic Western society, recovering the deeper human dimension.

During the performance, the audience is invited to sit across from me and choose a coloured thread to be sewn between my t-shirt and an item of the guest’s clothing. We hold each other’s gaze in silence until the thread connecting us is severed. Though the guest will leave and life will continue, the severed thread remains as a tangible testimony of our encounter.

Photo Maria Santos